November 13, 2014

Last year I wrote a post titled The Dinosaurs of Cannes about the scene at the Cannes Lions Festival, the ad industry’s star-studded annual awards show. I said, “As you walked down La Croisette the rest of the week, you could see lots of dinosaurs basking in their glory while asking what all the furry and feathered things running around at their feet and flying around above them were.” This year the new mammals and birds of the industry have begun to strut their stuff.

What these new species have in common is that they’re based on open systems. These systems are digital at their core, and leverage network effects and the ability of the “digital democracy” to find the best talent and ideas wherever they exist. Unlike closed marketing systems, characterized by agencies that wall off their in-house talent (creating a scarce and expensive resource), open marketing systems seek talent from anywhere in the world to solve problems, and then curate the best answers.

March 24, 2014

I recently spoke at a conference and, right before I went on stage, I listened to a well-known chief creative officer talk about his process. He pontificated about his love of the creative process and ended by saying that advertising was art. For him, the 60-second spot best articulated the art of advertising. He then went on to say that if an advertiser didn't want to buy his art then it wasn't the right client and he'd find another client who would appreciate his craft.

While I was inspired by his clarity and certainty that he had "the answer", the process of crafting advertising is certainly more commercial today than he would have liked it to be. There are still vestiges of having "the perfect answer" that exists at the core of many agencies. Many pitches are essentially exercises in saying: "My advertising product is better than everyone else's." As he continued to talk about his "art", I noticed that the audience leaned back and started to drift, looking at their smartphones and email. The audience had heard this shtick 1,000 times before. It's at the core of what marketing used to be: "Buy mine. Mine's better." After his session, the crowd was asked to participate but they were already mentally disengaged.

I'm not sure what's happened in the last few years but the agency business has becoming a closed, shrinking creative system. Every day the best and brightest young talent leaves the industry to join (or just bypass the industry all together) digital alternatives from start-ups to established digital players and other, more innovative established players in other industries (IDEO is an example). They might think of themselves in the marketing and advertising businesses but they don't want to take the traditional path. Working their way up through the creative ranks not only seems too slow but much too political and bureaucratic.

Likewise, it's hard for many of the long timers in the Agency Industrial Complex (AIC) to understand. The long held and established career path with its rewards and perks seduces them. A great example of which came across the industry's social media feed with posts from the #Andys50 judging, a boondoggle of sorts for the industries creative elite.

March 07, 2014

Back in May 2013 ,Victors & Spoils got a call from Bolthouse Farms asking if we’d be willing to work with them and Michael Moss, the author of “Salt, Sugar, Fat,” to create a “fake” campaign to promote and reposition the lowly vegetable, broccoli. The question was intriguing: If you used the same tactics and skills used to promote the biggest and most powerful food brands, could we move the needle on broccoli sales? If it worked, it might be a blueprint for how produce marketers can turn healthy foods into fun foods and in the process fight the U.S. obesity epidemic.

We applied the Victors & Spoils open philosophy and got over 100 people — from food experts and farmers to chefs and school lunch experts and of course a few marketing experts — involved in the strategic and creative process.

March 03, 2014

Agencies lean on their status as “valued partners” of clients, but the reality is that your brand might not need an agency anymore.

There’s already a shift taking place. A recent Association of National Advertisers study which found 60 percent of Fortune 500 brands are thinking about replacing agency work with in-house capabilities. Building an in-house agency might be a large task, today, as many agencies cling to their old business models a whole new crop of alternatives are there to help brands both strategically and creatively.

October 22, 2013

Today I was in the middle of writing my thoughts about the importance of this year’s Boulder city council elections. It feels like there is a tipping point about to occur and things could go one way or another. As I started to write I received this wonderful email that reflects my feelings, as well. Instead of writing my own letter I asked my friend if I could reprint her's here. She agreed.

As many of you know, I have been paying close attention to our local city politics in the last few years and every two years I send around my city council election recommendations to friends and colleagues who I think may be interested in the research I've done. After all, it is very hard to really know who the candidates are from their campaign literature, as it all tends to look the same. Add to that that they're all liberal environmentalists (even if they all didn't get the nod from the Sierra Club) and it makes it difficult for the average person to know who would truly represent them.

Secondly, remember that all the big decisionsabout access in Open Space come down to city council. The people we elect for our next city council will be taking up some potentially hot button Open Space issues such as modifying the popular Voice & Sight green tag program, evaluating an on-trail only travel requirement and a night-time curfew, as well as considering our Open Space land's "visitor and resource carrying capacity". These were directives given to OSMP by the current city council that haven't yet been tackled. That's why it's so important that we vote for candidates that will thoughtfully weigh these decisions, balancing natural resource protection and recreational access using sound science, by really listening to community input and then applying common sense and good judgement in their decisions.

Personally, I think it's time for new ideas and open-minded people on council who understand that Boulder’s future is more than the sum of our past accomplishments. We can't freeze our town in the past, we need to evolve to be a vibrant and brilliant community, to truly be that mecca for smart entrepreneurial people who work hard and play hard. I believe it's up to us to shape the future of Boulder by voting for the change we want to see; by voting for a city council that is reflective of this generation of Boulder citizens - a Boulder City Council that looks like us - we're environmentalists, we're for renewable energy, green building and zero-waste, we're employees, we're business owners, we're parents, we're climbers, hikers, bikers, runners, we're dog owners, we're average people who live in Boulder for the outdoor lifestyle it affords, which is largely about Open Space and our access to nature and the outdoors.

With all that said, here are my parameters for selecting city council members – we need common sense and a real-world, pragmatic approach on city council and above all, we need to be sure that the people we vote for are open-minded, independent and really willing to listen to all of the citizens in Boulder – not just the loud and vocal minority who have the free time to show up at every city council meeting and every single OSBT or Planning board meeting. That's why I'm supporting these two candidates for the upcoming election and I urge you to vote for them as well:

VOTE FOR ANDREW SHOEMAKER

Andrew is smart, and he has attracted support from all corners of the Boulder political spectrum – from former Governor Bill Ritter and former County Commissioner/former Mayor Will Toor to Community Cycles Advocacy Director Sue Prant and Boulder Trail Runner Buzz Burrell. These are not folks that always agree, but they all agree that Andrew is a good choice for council, and I agree with them. He is a lawyer, and despite all of the lawyer jokes, I have found lawyers to be incredibly effective because they listen to all arguments and judge them based on their merit. Andrew also has a young family and will bring the perspective of parents raising a young kids to council. Despite his busy schedule as a lawyer, Andrew made a tremendous personal commitment of time (over 500 volunteer hours) to bring the USA Pro Cycling Challenge to Boulder in 2012. For those of you who were not around, this was much more than a pro cycling race – it was a community social event on par with the Bolder Boulder and the Boulder Creek Festival. In the Blue-line questionnaire, he was only one of two candidates who said that supports the Flagstaff finish of the Pro Cycle Challenge for the future. He is also endorsed by FIDOS as a dog-friendly candidate.

VOTE FOR ED BYRNE

Ed is also smart, and has attracted the wide diversity of support that you see with Andrew. He has an open-mindedness and depth of experience to represent all of Boulder, and not just a small subset. Ed was on the editorial board of the Daily Camera for 7 years, so you can search for his opinions on a number of issues. Ed also is an attorney and land use consultant with over 30 years in Boulder. Suffice it to say that Ed has a vision for Boulder’s future that I think will keep our community vibrant, that will attract and retain innovative businesses whose owners and employees share our social and environmental values. He thinks we could be more progressive in how we shape our urban landscape by creating sub-communities of attractive and affordable housing for young professionals and families, as well as older people who want more walkable neighborhoods and safer biking paths, while maintaining our beautiful traditional neighborhoods. In the Blue-line questionnaire, he was the only other candidate who said that he supports the Flagstaff finish of the Pro Cycle Challenge for the future. He is also endorsed by FIDOS as a dog-friendly candidate.

VOTE FOR NO ONE ELSE

While technically you are allowed to vote for 5 candidates, if you vote for others, you will reduce the chances of these two will get elected. This is because your 5th ‘meh’ vote for a candidate is considered just as important as your ‘hell yeah!’ first vote. When all the votes are totaled, your ‘meh’ candidate may very well kick your ‘hell yeah!’ candidate out of the running. In my opinion all of the other candidates have either already served enough time on Boulder city council and need to make room for fresh ideas or they are not experienced and qualified enough to run our city or they are “bought and paid for” by the very people that I think don’t listen to people like you and me.

If what I've said here resonates with you, please forward it to your friends, family and colleagues. This is how we can change our city – by word of mouth.

October 14, 2013

Kofi Annan recently kicked off the 2013 One Young World in Johannesburg, South Africa. In his speech, he reminded the audience that “strong institutions are more important than strong leaders or big men”

It’s the same in sports. Quite often, it is the team of underdogs, unsung heroes and washed-up has-beens that comes together to beat the team with impeccable talent. You only have to look at the Yankees this year to see the failed formula of big talent and no team. After 19 years of being a lock, they missed the playoffs. Sure, Derek Jeter was injured, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera were taking their victory lap, but the biggest problem was the toxic behavior of baseball’s highest-paid player, Alex Rodriguez, who has redefined narcissism with his drama over injuries, drugs and now lawsuits. It’s not about baseball or the team; it’s all about Alex and his “talent.”

Similarly, in any company, especially agencies, great teams are built around culture and energy, not hiring the latest rock star. Yet many agencies have forgotten this truism. Every day, the industry press covers the latest move of top talent from one big shop to another. It rarely pans out. The talented folks never seem to be as talented as they were when they worked with the team that made them famous.

September 24, 2013

Today we announced a new venture, V&S Open Strategy. We've been doing strategy work since we started V&S. It was born out of the wonderful folks that I've had chance to work with through three companies, Radar Communications, Crispin and now V&S. They include Jeb Tilly, Ashley Alsop, Sara Brito and Koert Bakker have all added to the thinking about how to use our wonderful global community of 1,000 strategists.

We're learning as we go and need your help to change the way strategy and innovation work is done. Whether you're a strategist or a client come join us and help us create a new paradigm.

Victors & Spoils Begins Open Strategy

Separate practice harnesses expert thinking for global brands

Advertising agency Victors & Spoils has established a separate global strategy practice, offering a blueprint for thinking to clients who believe a great idea can come from anywhere.

V&S Open Strategy is different from the strategy offerings of its competitors because the agency’s leaders can build custom teams from a global community of more than 1,100 strategists by matching specific skillsets to each project. With access to V&S’ 36,000-person global crowd of category and product experts, creatives and fans who think differently, V&S Open Strategy provides depth and breadth of thinking, no matter the type of strategic project.

“We’ve always operated under the belief that if you ignore the world when you develop strategy, advertising or products, the world will ignore what you develop,” Executive Creative Director Noah Clark said. Technology, he added, enables an open system to solve clients’ strategic problems.

V&S has performed open strategy with clients that include American Express, WD40 and Pernod Ricard, and it currently is working with Crocs, Vail Resorts and Unilever. V&S has applied its open strategy practice globally, in Australia, China, Russia, the UK and North America. Andy Sackmann, CMO of Crocs said, "We liked how V&S' open model provided timely and targeted consumer input and feedback to our brand development approach to insure we kept the consumer at the center of our strategy."

V&S brings an innovative and solution driven approach to problems clients face. "We were stuck on a big new customer acquisition challenge. We brought V&S in, they asked some really provocative questions and got back to us with a range of potential approaches within a clear strategic framework. We saved months and I loved the combination of strategic rigor and tactical nuance. It made it easy to see where we had to go to win in the marketplace," said John Steward, EVP & General Manager, American Express - International Consumer and Small Business Services.

The company's insights reach into consumer's hearts and minds. "V&S' Open Strategy has been a powerful tool for how to communicate outside of our office walls and spreadsheets, and into the hearts of people who ski / ride and love our mountains. It's strategic planning at its best," said Nina Cashman, Director of Corporate Marketing at Vail Resorts.

V&S's open strategy allows them to find the best idea no matter where it is. “We don't have all the answers – no one person or organization does,” V&S President Jonathan Balck said. “But someone in the world does, and our model allows us to find the right person and ask.”

- See more at: http://lbbonline.com/news/victors-spoils-begins-open-strategy/#sthash.OqKQQBtt.dpuf

August 12, 2013

I’ve been fascinated watching the ad industry circle its wagons (look no further than the Publicis/Omnicom deal) in response to a move made this spring by several global advertisers, including P&G and Modelez. These giants, which spend billions on advertising, decided to extend their payment deadline to agencies from an average of 30 to 45 days to up to 120 days. This extended payment philosophy has the potential to transform the agency business in a dramatic way — and I’m not sure that’s bad.

Martin Sorrell, WPP’s CEO, was talking about deferred payments in Cannes recently and announced, “We are not a bank.” I was a bit surprised. One of the things I’ve respected and admired most about Sorrell, and WPP, is the financial rigor he has brought to the industry. He’s been brilliant in his willingness to slay the sacred cows of the industry and make bold decisions – whether it’s been pulling the media practices out of creative agencies to build media agencies or building specific agencies from a collection of folks from across the network around clients. As an entrepreneur, I’ve been in awe of Sorrell’s ability to look at the very inefficient ad agency business and, by using a bit of financial engineering, make it much more efficient. It’s a skill that only a Wall Street banker could exert.